Affimed joins project to find new diagnostic tracer molecules for use in imaging technologies

Published: 11-Feb-2009

Affimed Therapeutics, a German biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of antibody therapeutics, has joined the Molecular Imaging Technology Initiative, a project set up to develop new diagnostic methods and imaging technologies for clinical use and pharma applications.


Affimed Therapeutics, a German biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of antibody therapeutics, has joined the Molecular Imaging Technology Initiative, a project set up to develop new diagnostic methods and imaging technologies for clinical use and pharma applications.

Affimed has joined Bayer Schering Pharma, the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and other partners and will receive funding of more than Euro 550.000 to carry out its part of the project.

Affimed will identify and isolate new molecules binding to membrane-associated targets on tumour tissues, using its human antibody libraries. The optimised binding molecules in their final format will be further characterised in vitro by the above-mentioned partners. The main goal is to find new diagnostic tracer molecules for use in imaging technologies, but identified molecules could also be used for in vitro diagnostic purposes or the development of new pharmaceutical therapeutics.

"We are delighted about being chosen for this collaboration," said Affimed's chief scientific officer Professor Melvyn Little. "Affimed's antibody discovery engine is one of the most powerful in industry and we are confident that with this funding we will be able to generate novel tumour specific binding proteins that may have diagnostic or even therapeutic use."

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